Paleo Apple Cinnamon Muffins (Paleo)

This delicious Paleo Apple Cinnamon Muffins are the cold morning treat that you need to make your fall mornings cozy and tasty. This recipe is simple to throw together, and uses up any apples that you might have laying around that need to be eaten. They are lightly sweetened with maple syrup and coconut sugar, but have a great fall cinnamon taste so that you can enjoy these muffins for breakfast or a snack at any point in the day! These muffins are moist and spongey, giving the best muffin texture, and they freeze well for later. Definitely add this to your list of paleo fall treats!

Some health benefits of Cinnamon

Cinnamon is a powerful spice that can bring out the holidays in anyone. Whether you realized it or not, cinnamon is a healthy addition to many of your baked goods that make your holiday treats not only taste better, but also nourish your body. Just a few of the health benefits of cinnamon are mentioned below. When I was researching health benefits of cinnamon for this post, I could not believe the amount of unique properties cinnamon has. I certainly will be incorporating it more into my recipes; it is definitely an amazing thing to add to your diet!

Cinnamon is a known anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-viral spice. For many years, it has been used in Chinese medicine to treat a number of ailments, including stomach pains and other digestive issues. Cinnamon has recently been used as a way to treat Irritable Bowl Syndrome, and although it seemed that cinnamon relieved some of the symptoms associated with IBS, medical professionals and scientists are not exactly sure why that is the case.

A recent medical study in 2016 on cinnamon demonstrated that cinnamon oil may be an alternative treatment in fungal medicine, and yet another study from 2015 stated that cinnamon capsules (as well as peppermint capsules) helps heal chronic wounds. You don’t have to look far to find more studies, like this one stating that fungal infections in the respiratory tract can be treated with cinnamon extract, or this one about cinnamon’s use in fighting Salmonella. If you’d like to learn more about the anti-microbial properties of cinnamon, you can read more here.

Another amazing benefit of cinnamon is its ability to fight cancer. Although the effects of using cinnamon to treat cancer in humans has not yet been tested, some animal studies have proved promising. Cancerous growth may be curbed by cinnamon, and may interrupt part of the signaling that is found in cancerous growths. Again, more research is needed before any conclusions can be made for humans, but considering the other health benefits of cinnamon, anti-cancer properties are an additional benefit.

Like many herbs and spices, cinnamon is known to have amazing anti-inflammatory properties. Given cinnamon’s antimicrobial properties, it is a natural consequence that the body’s immune response would be reduced. You can read more about how cinnamon has been studied for its anti-inflammatory properties both here and here.

Lastly, cinnamon provides lots of benefits for those people regulating their blood sugar levels. Consuming cinnamon may help the body moderate sugar levels in the blood stream, as this study from 2012 indicated. If you’re skeptical about the outcome of one study’s results, this meta analysis from 2015 indicated that cinnamon as a sole treatment was beneficial for those participants that were pre-diabetic and those suffering from type 2 diabetes.

It is important to note that there are two main types of cinnamon, Cinnamomum cassia (cassia cinnamon) and Cinnamomum zeylanicum (ceylon cinnamon). They are derived from different trees and therefore have different tastes, textures, and chemical properties. Ceylon cinnamon is sometimes considered “safer” as it has lower levels of potential toxins that can harm the liver and kidneys. It is the most commonly found cinnamon in grocery stores.

As always, consult your medical professional before consuming anything to treat a condition that you might have.

How to make Paleo Apple Cinnamon Muffins

These muffins are so easy to put together for your next paleo breakfast or brunch. For this recipe, you will need:

• apples
• coconut oil, melted
• coconut flour
• almond flour
• eggs
• vanilla extract
• coconut sugar
• maple syrup
• almond milk
• baking powder
• baking soda
• salt
• cinnamon
• nutmeg

First, chop your apple into small pieces. You can certainly leave the skins on for added health benefits, or can peel the apples beforehand if that is your personal preference. I personally leave the apple skins on for extra fiber, and if I’m being honest, to save myself some time!

Combine the melted coconut oil, eggs, vanilla extract, almond milk, and maple syrup in a bowl. Stir until all the ingredients are combined. Then, add the coconut sugar. Stir until the coconut sugar is completely dissolved in the mixture. In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients: the coconut flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Once combined, gently add some fo the dry mixture to the wet ingredients. Be sure to stir completely as to avoid having chunks of dry ingredients in the wet. Lastly, add in your chopped apples.

Next, prepare muffin tins by either lining the tin with paper liners or by spraying them with cooking spray. I prefer to use coconut spray for my muffins to reduce waste.

Next, fill the muffin tins about 3/4 the way full. Bake for about 15-20 minutes at 350°F or until the muffins or until a fork inserted into the muffins comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool before eating. Once cooled, you can optionally add some melted coconut butter over top for an extra treat.

Store in an air tight container in the fridge for about a week, or freeze them for later!